Tiltable front drawer panel



Dec. 25, 1956 H. KYLLO 2,775,501

TILTABLE FRONT DRAWER PANEL 7 Filed Aug. 11, 1.952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fl6. 6. 4/10 i P t I I: /32 I l 1; \x 1/ ii 4: 6 ,.2/

86 INVENTOR HERMAN KYLLO ATTORNEY United States Patent TILTABLE FRONTDRAWER PANEL Herman Kyllo, Portland, Oreg.

Application August 11, 1952, Serial No. 303,749

3 Claims. (Cl. 312-320) This invention relates to improvements in draweror panel construction and has for its primary object to provide meansfor mounting the front panel of a drawer so that it can be tilted orswung slightly to expose one of its edges which functions as a hand pullto be grasped in pulling out the drawer.

Another object of this invention is to obviate the need for mountinghardware hand pulls on the front panel or wall of a drawer or forminghand pulls externally on the front panel so that the exterior of thefront panel is entirely devoid of any projection or depression.

A further object of this invention is to provide a tiltable front panelfor a drawer whereby the front panel can be tilted out of a positionperpendicular to the side panels of the drawer to an angular positionwith its lower edge swung away from the bottom wall a sufiicientdistance to permit a person to grasp the lower edge and use it as a handpull in withdrawing the drawer.

A further object of this invention is to provide a tiltable front panelfor a drawer which when swung inwardly will not only offer its loweredge as a hand pull but will also provide suflicient clearance atitsupper edge to enable the lower edge of a conventional front panel onthe upper drawer to be used as a hand pull in withdrawing that drawer.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a fulcrumaboutwhich the front panel can tilt or swing and to provide stops forlocating the panel in a normal position perpendicular to the side panelsand for arresting or limiting the swinging movement of the front panel.

A still further object of this invention is to provide means formounting the front panel to one or both of the side panels so that itcan tilt or swing but still be attached to the panels to pull the drawerout and to perform the normal functions of a front drawer panel.

These and ancillary objects and structural features of merit areattained by this invention, the preferred embodiments of which are setforth in the following description and illustrated in the'accompanyingdrawings, where- Figure l is a perspective view of a chest of drawers,two of the drawers having front panels in accordance with thisinvention;

. Figure 2 is a perspective view of the mounting means for the tiltablepanel, showing the same assembled;

Figure 3 is anexploded perspective view of the mounting means; Figure4is a vertical sectional viewtaken on line 4-4 of Figure 3;

Figure Sis a vertical sectional view taken on line 55 of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary transverse sectional ,view taken on line 6- -6of Figure 5; p

Figure 7 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of a drawer'and frontpanel showing the mounting means in elevation;

Figure 8 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of a 2,775,501Patented Dec. 25, 1956 ICQ Referring now more particularly to theaccompanying drawings, there is shown a conventional chest of drawers ordresser, which includes a casing 10 within which the drawers areslidably disposed. The drawers -14 and 16 are of standard constructionand disposed above and below, respectively, the drawer 12, which isconstructed in accordance with this invention. All of the drawers areslidably disposed on the rails 15, as seen in Figure 5.

The drawer 12 includes a bottom panel 18, opposed, relatively fixed sidepanels 20 and a back panel (not shown). A tiltable front panel 22 isconnected to the side walls 20 and mounted for vertical swingingmovement relative to the side walls.

Below the drawer 14, a drawer 12', identical in construction to thedrawer 12, is slidably disposed. Thus, a drawer in accordance with thisinvention would be disposed in spaced fashion in a dresser, chest orother article of furniture, so that every other drawer would beconstructed in accordance with this invention.

It will be noted that the upper edge 21 and lower edge 23 of the frontpanel 22 are beveled, so that the lower end 23 inclines upwardly, whilethe upper end 21 slopes downwardly. Similarly, the lower end 25 of thefixed front panel of the drawer 16 is inclined upwardly, while the upperend 27. of the fixed front panel of the drawer 14 slopes downwardly.This is provided, so that the panel 22 can swing inwardly to a tiltedposition as shown by the panel 22 of the drawer 12' and also so that thelower and upper ends of the front panels will be exposed to be graspedand used as pulls.

The front edge of each of the side walls 20 is formed with a straightlower section 28, that lies at right angles to the longitudinal axis ofthe panels 20 and forms a perpendicular stop to arrest the swingingmovement of the panel 22 and locate the panel in a perpendicular planeor at right angles to the panels 20. Above the lower section or lowerstop 28, the edge of the panel 20 is sloped or inclined inwardly to forman inclined stop or section 26,'which serves to limit the inwardswinging movement of the panel andlocate the panel in a tilted, angularposition. A fulcrum 24, about which the panel 22 moves, is defined bythe juncture betweenthe stops 26 and 28.

Mounting means 30 is provided for attaching the panel 22 to either oneor both of the opposed panels 20 and, as seen in Figures 2 and 3, themounting means includes a plate 32 which is fixed by screws 33 to theinside of the panel 20 at the front edges thereof. A screw 34 also fixesthe plate to the panel. A semi-circular carrier plate 38 is provided andis formed with circumferentially spaced arcuate slots 42, which arestruck on the same circle and adapted to receive the laterallyprojecting threaded lugs or bolts 36, which are carried by the plate 32.The lugs or bolts 36 form guides for the slots and are arranged on anequal radius from the fulcrum point. i

The plate 38 has a lateral flange 44 formed on its straight edge and theflange is fixed by screws to the inner face .of the panel 22 The plate38 moves about the lugs or guides 36 and attaches the panels 22 and 22'to the side panels 20 of their respective drawers.

A plate 46 overlies the plate 38 and has openings 52 i to receive thelugs or bolts 36, with nuts 50 being threaded on the ends of the lugs.An oblong opening 48 is formed in the plate 46 and registers with asimilar opening 40 in the plate 38, theopem'ngs exposing the screw 34,which assists the screws 33 in securing the plate 32 to the side panels20, so that the entire mounting means 30 may be removed as a unit fromthe panel 20.

3 in this respect, the screws :3 lie outside the periphery of the plate38.

In use, the front panels 22 and 22 are disposed perpendicular to theirbottom panels 18, with the inner surface of the front panels abuttingthe front edge of the bottom panels, as illustrated in Figure '5. Whenit is desired to pull either the drawer 12 or the identicallyconstructed drawer 12 outwardly, the associated front panel is tilted toan inclined position and assumes the position of the panel 22' in Figure5. This position of the front panel places the lower end 23 thereofoutwardly from the front of the chest or other suitable casing andprovides a clearance space, whereby the fingers of a user can bepositioned under the lower end 23. The lower end 23 can thus be graspedand the drawer can be pulled outwardly.

In tilting the panel 22 or 22' to the position of the panel 22', theplate 38, which supports the panel, as illustrated in Figures 2 and 3,is moved about the fixed elements 36, the fixed elements or bolts 36being within the arcuate slots 42 in the plate 38. The front panel 22 or22' moves about the fulcrum 24 from its rested position engaging thelower stop 28 of the side panels 20 to its inclined position engagingthe inclined upper stop 26.

The pull on the front panel is transmitted through the plate 38, bolts36 and the fixed plate 32 to the side panels 20, whereby the drawer maybe easily withdrawn.

If it is desired to pull out either the drawer 14 or the drawer 16,which are of standard construction, the front panel 22 or 22 is tilted,in the same manner as aforedescribed so as to expose the lower end ofthe fixed front panel of either the drawer 14 or the drawer 16. Suchpositioning of the front panel 22 or 22' provides a clearance, wherebythe fingers of a person can be inserted under the lower end of the fixedfront panel of either the drawer 14 or 16 and the lower end of the panelcan be grasped and the drawer can be thus pulled outwardly.

A modified construction is illustrated in Figure 7, wherein the frontpanel 54 is mounted by a mounting means 30, similar to the mountingmeans 30 to the side panel 56 of the drawer. The mounting means 30includes a fixed plate 32, which is secured to the side panel 56, amovable plate 38, which carries the front panel 54 by means of itsflange 44 and a cover plate 46. The front edge of the panel 56 is formedwith a fulcrum 60 and an inclined stop 58 is formed above the fulcrum60. Below the fulcrum 60, a declined stop 62 is formed on the front edgeof the side panel 56. Thus, the front panel 54 of Figure 7, can be swungto an inclined position about the fulcrum 60, through the medium of themounting Means 30' either to assume a tilted position arrested by thestop 58 or a tilted position arrested by the stop 62. It will thus beseen that instead of a straight stop below the fulcrum 60, such as thestop 28, the stop 62 is sloped inwardly. The front panel 54 can thus bemoved to a position, where either its lower or outer ends extendoutwardly past the front panels of the drawer above and below. Such 'aconstruction, enables the lower end of the front panel of the drawerabove to be grasped by moving the upper end of the panel 54 inwardlyagainst the stop 58 and also enables the upper end of the front panel ofthe lower drawer to be grasped and used as a pull by swinging the lowerend of the front panel 54 in against the stop 62.

Another form of this invention is illustrated in Figures 8 and 9,wherein the front panel 64 is mounted on the side panel 65 by a mountingmeans 74. The front edge of the side panel 65 is formed with a fulcrum68, above which an inwardly inclined or sloped stop 70 is formed andbelow which a declined or inwardly sloped stop 72 is formed. The stops70 and 72 are similar to the stops 58 and 62 in Figure 7.

The mounting means 74 consists of an arcuate or semicircular rail 76,which is formed at its ends with a right angular flange or mountingplate 78, that is secured by screws 80 to the inner surface of the frontpanel 64. The rail 76 is equivalent to the plate 38 in Figures 3 and 4and is slidably housed in an arcuate groove 82 formed in the side panel65. A plate 84, which is arcuate, overlies the groove 82 to hold therail 76 therein, the plate 84 being affixed in its overlying position bythe screws 86, which penetrate the side panel 65.

In use, it can be seen that the rail '76 will slide in the groove 82, sothat the front panel 64 can move about the fulcrum 63 to a positionwhere its upper end abuts the stop or to a position where its lower endabuts the stop 72.

It can thus be seen that a front panel construction for a drawer isprovided, whereby the front panel can be used as a pull to withdraw thedrawer from its casing, such as a chest or a dresser or the like.However, the panel construction is not limited to such use, since it canbe used as the separating bar between a pair of cabinet doors, where itwould then tilt about a vertical axis, on mounting means 30, 30 or 74and expose the side edge of either of the .doors.

it can thus be seen that many uses can be found for such a panelconstruction and, therefore, limitation is sought only in accordancewith the terms of the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In a panel construction, a fulcrum, a panel mounted for tiltingmovement about the fulcrum and stops on opposite sides of the fulcrum tolimit the movement of the panel, a pair of spaced relatively fixedmembers between which the panel is mounted and means pivotally attachingthe panel to said members, saidlast means including fixed guides carriedby the members and mounting plates on the ends of said panel and havingslots receiving said guides.

2. In a panel construction, a fulcrum, a panel mounted for tiltingmovement about the fulcrum and stops on opposite sides of the fulcrum tolimit the movement of the panel, a pair of spaced relatively fixedmembers between which the panel is mounted and means pivotally attachingthe panel to said members, said last means including fixed guidescarried by the members and mounting plates on the ends of said panel andhaving slots receiving said guides, said guides being radially spacedfrom the fulcrum and arranged inthe same circle and said slots beingarcuate and disposed on the same radius from the fulcrum.

3. In a drawer, a bottom panel, opposed side panels having front edges,each of said edges being straight at their lower portions and inclinedat their upper portions, the junctures between the portions forming afulcrum, a front panel, means mounting the front panel to the sidepanels for tilting movement about the fulcrum from a position abuttingthe straight lower portions of the edges and at right angles to thebottom panel to a position abutting the inclined upper portions andinclined relative to the bottom panel, said mounting means includingfixed guides carried by the side panels, plates carried by the frontpanel and having slots to receive the guides.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS103,365 Phelps May 24, 1870 394,500 Newberry Dec. 11, 1888 745,693 TobeyDec. 1, 1903 801,401 Roth Oct. 10, 1905 815,535 Illig Mar. 20, 19061,109,114 Dayton Sept. 1, 1914 1,473,854 Heidland Nov. 13, 1923

